Robert Lalah, Staff ReporterWHEN 23-YEAR-OLD Sheila Baker received the news that she had been granted a permit to work as a medical office assistant at a hospital in Grand Cayman, she thought it was the answer to her prayers.
Sheila, who lives with her mother in Patrick City, St. Andrew, had been on the hunt for a job in Jamaica for several months, having graduated from the University of the West Indies with a bachelor's degree in 2005.
Things were simply not working out for her. Like many others, Sheila found the job hunt more difficult than she ever imagined. Her years of study seemed no help to her as she kept being rejected by companies because of her inexperience in the working world.
HEFTY STUDENT LOAN
Faced with a hefty student loan to repay and increasing pressure to contribute to the household budget, Sheila was at her wit's end, not knowing what to do next.
Luckily, Sheila's family members in Grand Cayman eventually intervened and arranged for her to start working at a hospital there.
Sheila packed her bags and headed off. She started her new job in September 2005.
Praised constantly by her employees for her willingness to learn and her commitment to the job, Sheila quickly settled into her new post. She started sending money home to support her unemployed mother and started meeting her student loan obligations. Things were finally back on track.
By February this year, Sheila had earned vacation time and decided to take a trip home to Jamaica to visit her mother.
When she got home, Sheila received a phone call from her employers in Cayman that pulled the rug right from under her.
"They told me that my work permit had expired and that I could not return until it was renewed," said Sheila. "I didn't expect that at all, but I was hopeful that my permit would be renewed without any hassle."
But things did not turn out that way for the devout Christian. Sheila had intended to be in Jamaica for only a few days, but was forced to stay indefinitely, as she waited to hear from her employers. "I was here for more than a week just waiting. I didn't even have enough clothes to last, but I did what I could," she said.
NEARLY FLOORED
Eventually, Sheila received the call. It nearly floored her.
"They told me that the work permit was denied. They said the Cayman authorities were demanding that the hospital provide the résumés of all the Cayman nationals who applied for the job as well as a detailed letter providing reasons why they were turned down for the job in favour of me," Sheila said.
"Basically they were saying that a Cayman national could and should have been employed in that position. This, despite the fact that I was qualified for the job and was doing really well at it."
Now Sheila is stuck in Jamaica with no money, very little clothes and no job.
"All my savings are in the bank in Cayman. My clothes, books, everything is still there," she said.
Sheila has now applied for a visa to return to Cayman to retrieve her possessions and to get her money from the bank. She must wait two weeks for a response. The worst part she says, however, is that she is back at square one, with no job, no money and no immediate prospects. "Since then I've been spending what little money I have left to mail and deliver applications for jobs. It's the same thing all over again. I'm so tired, I've been walking all day delivering these applications and I still haven't got one response," Sheila said.
Since she's been back home, the Student's Loan Bureau (SLB) has already written to Sheila asking her to pay up for the two months which have lapsed since she lost her job. Now as the debts grow, the young woman waits impatiently for the phone to ring, hoping that the answer to her prayers for work comes soon.
Not her real name.
